Decontamination devices developed by a Danbury startup business might soon be seen in use at hospitals around the nation -- and perhaps the world.

Spectra254, a developer of high-power ultraviolet light decontamination systems and located at 3 Corporate Drive, is on the verge of marketing its first product, the Spectra 1000 UV light machine.

The first shipment is expected to be made within weeks, said Spectra254 founder George Lichtblau, who is awaiting final approvals by Underwriters Laboratories.

"It should be approved by UL in about two weeks. The market for these -- the starting point is hospitals. But I think it has a bigger market, including locker rooms of professional and college sports teams," said Lichtblau, who founded International Fiber Systems, which he sold to General Electric in 2003.

Lichtblau, 75, who would not disclose the sale price, is also a pioneer in creating radio frequency detector-tag technology used by stores like Walgreen's and CVS to deter merchandise theft.

"I was in St. Petersburg in Russia at the Hermitage, and they had my security system there, and I got a big kick out of it," said Lichtblau, a New Canaan resident who holds more than 300 patents.

Licthblau said his Spectra 1000 device will be priced at $40,000, compared with about $130,000 for a similar device manufactured by about a half-dozen competitors.

"I want to get market share. I'm perfectly happy with the margin at these prices," said Lichtblau, whose Spectra254 is housed in a building primarily occupied by ComNet, a manufacturer of fiber optic transmission and networking equipment that he founded seven years ago. "I've put in $1.5 million so far. I should break even by the end of 2015, and by then I think I will have invested $3 million in the business."

He said development of the system would not have been possible without the assistance of staff at ComNet, which has 60 employees in Danbury and 40 more at offices across the United States and overseas.

"All the engineering is done here, and we do final tests and ship from here," said Lichtblau, who has attended numerous trade shows marketing Spectra254 products.

He expects Spectra254 to participate in the FIME International Medical Expo in August in Miami and IDWeek, a program focusing science and disease prevention, diagnosis and treatment, in October in Philadelphia.

"Our 1000 product is first generation. We have about five more products in the works," said Lichtblau, who is assembling a staff of marketers and sales people.

Lichtblau said the Spectra 1000, designed as a mobile device, can be used to kill the infection before it affects players.

The spread of pathogens in the workplace is becoming a real concern, said Sanford Green, president of Spectra254.

"The loss to the business in dollars, absenteeism and, in some cases, product recalls, is staggering," he said in a statement. "All of which could have been lessened with the implementation of a prevention protocol to eliminate this threat."

The Spectra 1000 has passed tests conducted by Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore.

"The results of the testing look excellent. Bacterial killing was impressive at each of the time/distance parameters, even in the shaded samples," said Dr. Lisa Maragakis, in a May report to Lichtblau.

The Spectra 254 1000 UV light device was tested against three different pathogens including MRSA, VRE (Vancomycin resistant enterococcus) and CRE (Carbapenem-resistant enterobacteriaceae), Maragakis said, and was "highly effective" at killing organisms at a range of exposure times and distances.

The devices were tested in an unoccupied intensive care hospital room, measuring about 20 by 30 feet, including a 3- by 3-foot toilet area.

Spectra254 reinforces Danbury's goal of having a diverse business base, said Bruce Tuomala, the city's economic development director.

"We love innovative technology in Danbury. We're strong on medical and biomedical," he said. "It's another cool company with a different kind of technology right here in Danbury."